A quarter of middle-class workers now work two or more jobs to supplement their income

As the repercussions of the Coronavirus crisis become apparent, some sectors have thrived throughout lockdown. The latest figures from Freelancer.com looking at opportunities on their platform across Q2 2020 in 247 different countries, regions and territories shows a 41% boost in jobs posted in Q2 2020 versus Q2 2019, with the total number rising to 605,000 from 429,000 respectively. In 2020 alone, the jump between Q1 and Q2 was over 25% with the total number of jobs posted rising from 482,000 to 605,000 respectively.

The biggest increase in demand in the second quarter was for work related to mathematical modelling. Mathematics, Matlab, Mathematica, Algorithm projects (up 99.6%, to 16,501 jobs). Similarly, Statistics and Statistical Analysis jobs were up 75% to 7,397 jobs demonstrating the demand for highly skilled workers for projects. Healthcare, government, business and media are among the majority of employers hiring number crunchers to interpret, analyse and report this data, especially relating to COVID-19.

Despite the common opinion that freelancers consist of delivery riders or taxi drivers, zero contract hours have become a lucrative life-choice of the middle-classes, brandished under sophisticated terms of consultants, project managers, data scientists and specialists. The world of freelance is far from the confines of low-skilled workers. Prominent sectors to support flexible employees include technology, finance and medicine – all requiring highly skilled, highly resourced professionals.

Today, a study launched by The Future Strategy Club, the marketplace and education platform for the finest contractor talent, across 2003 UK adults shows that 4.3 million middle class (ABC 1) workers have made the jump to working freelance from the traditional nine-to-five.

Key Stats

• 23% of British workers – 6.2 million people – work between two to five jobs at one time to support their income
  • This rises to 25% of middle-class workers (ABC1 workers)
• Nearly half of the UK workforce – 47% of British workers – would convert from 9-5 to working flexibly if they knew that they would get paid regularly.
  • This rises to 52% of middle-class workers – 8.5 million workers
• 4.5 million Brits – 14% of Brits – have considered leaving or have left freelance work due to inconsistent or late payments
  • This amounts to 2.8 million middle-class workers (14%)
• Over a third of Brits – 35% of British workers – would rather have flexible working options than a pay rise.
  • This applies to 41% of middle-class professionals – 7.4 million workers
• Eight million working Brits – 25% – can’t afford big-ticket commitments such as weddings, holidays, and home improvements due to the freelance payment structure
  • This trend translates to a quarter of middle-class workers, representing 4.8 million Brits
• Almost five million working Brits – 15% – have had to turn to payday lenders or short-term finance solutions due to inconsistent payments from their freelance work.
  • This rises to 17% of middle-class freelance workers, equating to 3.4 million Brits

This research comes at a time as millions of Brits and businesses look at life post-COVID and decides whether they will once again return to offices, commute to work or even have permanent work with their pre-Coronavirus employer again. As Brits begin to come off of furlough and the government looks to support employment, highly skilled workers who can help many businesses on specific projects have an opportunity to build their own brand and earn more in the high-level gig economy.

Justin Small, Founder of The Future Strategy Club, commented on the research: “As seen in the Freelancer report, the demand for highly-skilled, highly specific project work in quickly on the rise. Crisis presents opportunities for people and business alike and for those with in-demand business skills, more employees may look to go alone and enter the marketplace to help many businesses survive and thrive post-COVID. This model, especially with some being made redundant during this period, maybe replicated by many C-suite level workers to help them control their work/life balance, dictate their day rate and work on a variety of fulfilling projects.”